In her work Déliés, political scientist Chloé Morin examines how social and technological transformations undermine the bonds between individuals. She warns of a phenomenon that goes beyond the simple feeling of isolation: loneliness can weigh on mental health, reduce tolerance for divergent opinions, and contribute, among other factors, to changes in voting behavior. In her view, the rapidity of digital changes, especially with artificial intelligence, makes the reflection on regulation and public policies even more urgent.
A loneliness that cannot be reduced to the absence of contacts
Contemporary loneliness does not always manifest itself as a total absence of relationships. Many people interact with those around them and remain in contact with others, but these ties can be more distant, less regular, or less nourished than before. The feeling of isolation then arises from a discrepancy: individuals sometimes feel that today’s society no longer corresponds to the one in which they grew up.
This distinction is important. Being surrounded does not necessarily mean feeling understood, supported, or integrated into a community. Exchanges can multiply while losing depth, while opportunities to share common experiences become scarce. For Chloé Morin, this transformation makes loneliness a collective issue, not just a personal difficulty.
In Déliés, the political scientist traces the developments that have contributed to weakening relationships: changes in lifestyles, the growth of digital usage, and the emergence of new technological intermediaries. Social networks, online games, dating apps, and companions based on artificial intelligence change the ways of forming relationships, maintaining them, and perceiving the presence of others.
More numerous digital exchanges, but not always stronger
Digital tools have made communication immediate and accessible. They allow for maintaining a connection despite distance, joining communities, and finding interlocutors who share similar interests. But the quantity of interactions does not guarantee their quality. Brief messages, quick reactions, and remote exchanges can overlook the availability, listening, and trust that are often built over time.
Platforms also organize an increasing share of attention. Content is selected and presented according to recommendation systems likely to favor what keeps the user engaged. This logic can trap everyone in familiar media habits and circles of viewpoints. Confrontation with differing opinions then becomes rarer or more abrupt, instead of being part of a progressive dialogue.
Chloé Morin emphasizes that the difficulty in bearing contradiction intensifies in societies where exchanges often occur in fast, polarized digital spaces. An opposing opinion can be experienced as a personal attack rather than an invitation to discuss. This evolution fuels tensions and complicates the search for compromise, which remains essential to democratic life.
Social media and their effects on mental health
The effects of social media have been measured after their rapid integration into daily usage. The political scientist recalls that the concerns focus both on mental health, especially that of young people, and on the democratic consequences of these platforms. Researchers have gradually studied their links with anxiety, self-image, attention, and the quality of relationships, while digital practices continued to evolve.
This timeline feeds into a broader anxiety: innovations are often adopted before their long-term effects are clearly established. Tools spread among millions of people, then institutions, families, and research attempt to understand their consequences. For Morin, the risk is that regulation comes after sustainable habits have been established, particularly when users are young.
The question is not to deny the potential benefits of technologies. Networks can facilitate mutual aid, access to information, and citizen mobilization. But their use is not neutral: the design of platforms, economic models, and recommendation mechanisms influence the content seen and the interactions encouraged. The debate also concerns the rules imposed on companies and the protection of the most vulnerable audiences.
Artificial intelligence, an additional acceleration
The arrival of generative artificial intelligence tools accelerates the gap between innovation and evaluation. These systems can respond, write, summarize, or simulate a conversation at a speed that makes their adoption particularly rapid. The time needed to precisely measure their social, cognitive, and psychological effects risks exceeding the time required for them to become part of ordinary usage.
This rapidity raises questions about the trust placed in the responses produced by AIs, about the verification of information, and about the role of algorithms in shaping opinions. If a person uses a digital assistant as their main source, the responses received can influence the subjects they pay attention to and how they interpret current events. The biases present in the data or in the design of the tools can thus affect the information available.
However, the potential of AI is not limited to social or media uses. Researchers also consider its contribution to research and knowledge production, as discussed in this article about artificial intelligences and scientific discoveries. This diversity of applications underscores the necessity to distinguish potential benefits from risks, rather than viewing artificial intelligence as uniformly favorable or harmful technology.
Loneliness and voting: a link to interpret with caution
The political scientist describes loneliness as one of the factors associated with populist voting, without making it a unique explanation. The feeling of being isolated, of having few friendships, or of feeling distant from institutions can contribute to a context in which certain political proposals resonate more. Other dimensions also intervene, notably economic conditions, personal trajectories, and trust in public officials.
An individual who feels a loss of belonging may turn to discourses promising to restore a community, give voice to those who feel ignored, or identify those responsible for a perceived injustice. This does not mean that lonely people all vote the same way. The observation pertains to a correlation and invites investigation into the conditions that encourage social withdrawal, distrust, and rejection of compromise.
The weakening of ties can also alter how citizens encounter political information. When exchanges mainly take place within homogeneous groups, disagreements become less familiar. Opposing opinions then seem more threatening, and public discussions polarize. Democratic life, in contrast, depends on the ability to hear different experiences, confront arguments, and maintain spaces for shared conversation.
The question of institutional trust also relates to that of civic technologies. Some initiatives explore the possibility of using digital tools to enhance participation or transparency, as presented in this article on blockchain and democratic experiments in Nevada. These mechanisms do not replace social ties or deliberation, but they illustrate the search for new forms of participation at a time when political trust is being tested.
Protecting children and supporting usage
In the face of the magnitude of changes, Chloé Morin advocates for protective measures aimed at children, even going so far as to call for a ban on social networks and artificial intelligence regarding them. This stance is rooted in concern over early exposure to tools whose effects are not always well understood. It highlights the responsibility of public authorities, platforms, and adults accompanying the young.
Regulation, however, raises concrete questions: how to define the appropriate age, enforce rules, and avoid having restrictions become just a statement of intent? Public policies must take into account actual usage, the protection of privacy, and the communication needs of young people. They can also include media education, learning to verify sources, and understanding how recommendation systems work.
Beyond prohibitions, the challenge is to help young people develop a thoughtful relationship with screens and AI tools. This involves providing them with guidelines to distinguish reliable information from misleading content, recognize the limits of automated responses, and understand how platforms guide attention. Such an approach does not eliminate risks but can strengthen the ability to make informed choices.
Reading as public policy and a common link
Among the possible responses, Chloé Morin emphasizes the promotion of reading. She believes that this practice does not receive attention commensurate with its importance. Reading engages long-term time, concentration, and interpretation; it also allows entry into perspectives far removed from one’s experience. It can therefore help enrich vocabulary, exercise judgment, and make contradiction more accessible.
Reading is not a unique answer to isolation and does not replace in-person relationships. However, it can offer shared experiences, nourish conversations, and convey common references. Supporting libraries, access to books, and reading practices from childhood is thus both a cultural choice and a reflection on citizen formation.
Cinema also contributes to building a common culture. Works allow for discussions about eras, values, and experiences that transcend individual pathways. Debates surrounding films, whether it’s a choice for the best film of the century or the return of a beloved work, testify to this way of creating shared references, as shown by these articles on Quentin Tarantino’s favorite film for the 21st century and the anticipated return of a film awarded several Oscars.
Reinventing relationships in the era of platforms
The transformation of social ties is not the result of a single tool or a single era. It stems from successive changes in ways of working, moving, meeting, and communicating. Recent technologies accelerate certain evolutions, but responses cannot be limited to merely replacing one service with another. They also involve reflecting on the place accorded to meetings, collective activities, and spaces where disagreements can be expressed without breaking dialogue.
The digital realm also intervenes in areas where trust and recognition are essential. The protection of creations and the management of rights, for instance, evolve with online tools and automated systems. The envisioned uses of blockchain in the field of intellectual property illustrate this search for new processes to identify and track works. These technical innovations do not directly address loneliness, but they show how much social, cultural, and economic relationships are now traversed by digital infrastructures.
For Chloé Morin, the scale of the phenomenon implies that loneliness should not be reduced to a private matter. Educational choices, platform design, rules applicable to technologies, and cultural policies shape the conditions in which individuals can meet and participate in society. The evolution of digital tools makes this reflection more pressing, even as their effects continue to be studied.
